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St. Cloud State University (SCSU) has been designated as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education (CAEIAE) for academic years 2009-2014 by the National Security Agency (NSA). This prestigious designation recognizes SCSU's commitment to excellence in information assurance, and places SCSU among the top academic programs in computer and information security in the nation. SCSU will be recognized for this achievement at the 13th Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education on Wednesday, 3rd June 2009 in Seattle, WA.

In 2008, the Committee on National Security Systems and the NSA certified that St. Cloud State University offers a set of courseware that has been reviewed by national level information assurance subject matter experts and determined to meet the national training standards for the duties and responsibilities of both Information Systems Security Professionals, NSTISSI No. 4011 and Risk Analysts, CNSSI No. 4016E. This certification was a prerequisite for applying for the CAEIAE. SCSU submitted the application for Center of Academic Excellence in CAEIAE to the NSA on January 15, 2009. SCSU was able to pass a rigorous review demonstrating its commitment to academic excellence in IA education and clearly justified the stringent evaluation criteria. With this certification, SCSU joins the elite group of ­­­­­­94 institutions that enjoy the status of CAEIAE.

The NSA and the Department of Homeland Security jointly sponsor the National CAEIAE program. The goal of the program is to reduce vulnerability in the national information infrastructure by promoting higher education and research in IA and to produce a growing number of professionals with IA expertise in various disciplines. Designation as a CAEIAE is valid for five academic years, after which the school must successfully reapply in order to retain its CAEIAE designation. Universities designated as Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education are eligible to apply for scholarships and grants through the Department of Defense Information Assurance Scholarship Program.

The computer security efforts at SCSU is coordinated by the Center for Information Assurance Studies (CIAS), an interdisciplinary effort between the Business Computer Information Systems Department located in the G.R. Herberger College of Business and the Computer Networking and Applications Department in the College of Science and Engineering. Dr. Mark Schmidt, founder and interim director of CIAS, SCSU stresses that the CIAS provides a supportive learning environment, in which students are challenged to develop an in-depth knowledge in various domains of information assurance. The mission of CIAS is to facilitate cyber security research, education, and practice.